subota, 31.03.2007.

MAKING BIG TIME NOISE: Memphis Grizlies rookie Tarence Kinsey averaging 38min/19.2p/54%šuta in the last 5 games, making many of the Memphis fans think that Logo has find another "diamond in the rough"...

PAKRACOLOGIJA

LeBron takes Cavs to topless bar?

LeBron James cheered up his teammates after their loss to the Knicks Wednesday night by taking them to Scores West for some topless entertainment, according to NEW YORK POST. The Cleveland Cavalier forward brought 15 pals to the mammary Mecca, where he had the champagne flowing and a stunning squad of strippers doing table dances for three solid hours. "He tipped in cash and was very generous," said blond knockout Lindsay. James and Co. finally called it a night at 4 a.m.

DJEDICA OPET U LIGI?

Kevin Willis, 44, went through a 45-minute workout with Mavs coach Avery Johnson on Thursday. He'll be back today for another workout and could be signed to a 10-day contract and possibly be in uniform for tonight's game against New York, Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said. "He was impressive for what we're looking for," said Nelson, who added that no deal has been struck. "It's potentially a fit." Willis said he sees the Mavs as a team on a mission and believes his experience can be an asset.

By 1986 things had gotten so bad that NBA commissioner David Stern, in what he has referred to as "the hardest thing I've ever had to do as commissioner," made Micheal Ray the first player in NBA history to be banned for life.

Tisdale, a 6-foot-9 Tulsa native who played 12 seasons in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns, disclosed the cancer earlier this week on his Web site. He said the prognosis for his recovery is excellent.

Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Damon Jones has no shame in his game when it comes to shooting or fashion.
Jones' specializes in three-pointers —214 of his 328 field goal attempts have come from behind the arc — and dressing stylishly.

The nine-year veteran is shooting 39.7% on threes, and with a wardrobe that he says includes 450 suits and 150 pairs of shoes, he is the self-proclaimed best-dressed player in the NBA.

"I'm so exotic with my looks," Jones says. "I try to be different than all the other guys."

Jones succeeds at dressing differently on a nightly basis. Last spring he sported a leopard print sports coat during the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Washington Wizards. Earlier this season, he wore a tiger print jacket when Cleveland played at Washington. When he played for Miami three seasons ago, he donned a bright red sports coat for a playoff game with Detroit.

"When you consider yourself the best dressed, you're going to go out there sometimes," Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas says. "You're going to try things nobody is else is going to try and wear things no one else is going to wear. It works for him."

Jones says he selects his game-night attire based on the magnitude of the contest.

"It depends on where we are, the importance of the game and the amount of media attention surrounding the game," Jones says. "If it's a TNT or ESPN game, I would wear a suit and tie with my customary Gucci or Louis Vuitton slippers. If it's just a regular TV game, I would go with jeans and slippers."

Jones says he has become a fashion adviser for players throughout league who call him for tips. He also says that his style is beginning to influence how his peers dress.

"You're starting to see a trend," Jones says, adding that NBA Finals MVP Dwyane Wade— named the best-dressed player in the NBA by GQ magazine — benefited from Jones' good taste in clothes when they were teammates on the Heat two seasons ago.

"D-Wade was a sweat suit and jeans type of guy," Jones says. "I think my flair kind of propelled him to what he is off the basketball floor. A lot of guys say they don't like it. It doesn't look good. Now I'm starting to see a lot of guys taking on my style."

NAJBOLJE NOĆAŠNJE AKCIJE (30/03/2007)..

Confident in pink or red

Jones says others are able to emulate his style, but he is not concerned that someone will surpass him as the league's No. 1 clotheshorse because the combination of his personality and sartorial splendor are unbeatable.

"You can hang on my style, but you'll never have my personality," he says. "That's not a problem.

"For a guy who says he's the best-looking thing you've ever seen, it's not hard to put on a pink blazer or a bright red (sports coat). I'm OK with who I am."

Jones says he has been fashion conscious since his high school years, adding that his penchant for dressing comes from his mother, who he says "was a fashion icon."

"She would take four skirts and nine or 10 blouses and make different combinations," Jones says. "She was awesome. The way she dressed inspired me."

Jones says while his high school classmates were wearing baggy pants hanging off their waists, no belts and oversized shirts with the tail out, he wore jeans on his waist with a belt and always had his shirt tucked in.

"It made me feel good about myself, being clean-cut and being able to look good every day," he says.

Once in the NBA, he took his flair for dressing to another level.

"He does very well," Houston center Dikembe Mutombo says. "But I have a few questions about some of the colors he brings. He reminds me more of (former NBA player) Charles Oakley. He must be from Milwaukee or Cleveland."

Mutombo refers to Jones as "a Hollywood man," but he questions Jones' status as the best-dressed player in the NBA.

"Who voted for him?" Mutombo says. "I need to see that vote."

MICHAEL JORDAN SCORED 53, 50, 61 (3 GAMES)..

A throwback to the 1970s

Jones says the league has yet to see his 'A' game this season in terms of dress. He plans to unveil a new look in the upcoming weeks.

"You are in for a treat the rest of this season," he says. "I have a look that's just going to kill them. Nobody has ever done it. Nobody has ever seen it. When they see it, they're going to be like 'Wow, he's doing it again.' "

Jones also plans to make a big splash during All-Star weekend. He's competing in the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout on All-Star Saturday.

He says he already has the four outfits that he will wear for the weekend, lined up in his closet.

"Damon is quite a character," says Cary Mitchell, owner of Charlotte-based Cary Mitchell Designs. "He tries to take it to another level. He's almost like a throwback player in the '70s in the way he dresses.

"He's flashy like Earl the Pearl (Monroe), Clyde (Walt Frazier) and Gus Johnson. He reminds me of that first generation of black NBA players who were really flashy.

"He likes to have fun with his stuff. He's not like Alonzo Mourning or Michael Jordan, mainstream neat dressers. Zo is always neat and coordinated. He always fits the occasion. MJ is like that, too. Damon is flashy, but he's still classified as a good dresser."

Now, it starts for real! On Tuesday and Wednesday the first semi-finals of the 2006/07 NLB play-off will be played in the Croatian capital and in Belgrade with FMP, Cibona, Partizan and Hemofarm guaranteeing a spot in the final part of the season.

NAJBOLJE NOĆAŠNJE AKCIJE (27/03/07)..

After a five-year period during which the Final Four was organizer three times being replaced by the Final Eight Tournament in the previous two seasons, now it is a turn to come out with the play-off of the best four teams which will meet in the best-of three games.

RASHEED WALLACE 60-FOOT BUZZER BEATER..

Two among the four semi-finalists already won the regional title, Hemofarm took in it in 2004/05 while FMP (ex-Reflex) won it twice, first in 2003/04 and for the second time in 2005/06. Both semi-finals will not be played on the same day, FMP and Hemofarm will meet a day later then Cibona and Partizan.

Through the sandbox spats with Shaquille O'Neal and criminal charges in Colorado, through the flailing arms and suspensions, Kobe Bryant keeps the innate gift that turns everyone back to the unassailable truth of his mystique: Salvation is forever in his shot.

Whatever grief he brings on himself, whatever trouble comes his way, Bryant finds his forgiveness in shooting the basketball. He keeps shooting, keeps scoring – four consecutive 50-point games and counting now – and Bryant bullies back his detractors, his demons, basket after basket. Whatever you want to say about him, he demands this to be included: Best player on the planet.

"Do you remember there was a suspension about two weeks ago?" Phil Jackson asked Friday night in New Orleans. "I think this has motivated him."

Jackson is the grand wizard master of all mind games, and it's easy to see him marveling over the one that Bryant is playing with himself and with everyone.

Fifty points on the Hornets on Friday night seemed so improbable, what with the exertion of dropping 60 points on Memphis, 50 on Minnesota and 65 on Portland in the several days. The resilience of Bryant is the way that he wears everyone else to a nub – his opponents, his public, his teammates. One by one, they tend to bow to his relentless resolve.

He isn't just scoring out of his mind, but he's winning these games, too. This is a binge with the blessing of Jackson, a holy alliance with the blessed triangle offense.

NAJBOLJE NOĆAŠNJE AKCIJE (26/03/07)..

To call his stunning four-game run of reaching 50 points Jordan-esque would be unfair to Bryant because Michael Jordan never did it. Only Wilt and Kobe now. Yes, this is Chamberlain's stratosphere, a stunning achievement considering that the 7-footer destroyed people with finger rolls and dunks. Kobe has done it as guard, done it with 55 percent shooting, and with the porous Warriors and Grizzlies on the way into Staples Center, it seems only a loss of stamina can stop this streak.

For now, Bryant has restored control of his public persona. "The thing that was frustrating for me is that people were talking about me as a dirty player, which to me was pretty insulting," he said.

Besides the PlayStation scoring runs, here's a solution for Bryant: Stop hitting people in the face. Besides that, Bryant will get past the smacks upside the heads of Manu Ginobili and Marko Jaric because he has the talent to bring it back to his greatness.

Early in the season, Bryant had been in the MVP conversation for transforming himself into a steward of the Los Angeles Lakers' system. In his personal campaign to change his public image post-arrest and post-Shaq, No. 8 had turned to No. 24 and Bryant had been driven to reshape himself in the public eye as a good teammate and good citizen.

As Kobe's learned, people are forever mistaking virtue with victory. As an Eastern Conference scout said then, "Last year, he was so ball hungry in the triangle, he would literally chase it down on offense. It was Kobe vs. everyone. This year, he's much more accepting of his teammates, of his role in the triangle."

KK SV.PETAR (CRO/C-1) feat. GUARD COMBO HLUPIĆ/CVETKO..

Until this past week, when the Lakers' losing gave him license to let loose. When everyone was debating Nowitzki vs. Nash for MVP, Kobe pushed himself back into the discussion. Unlike them, he's a defensive force as well.

Kobe has never won the award, which isn't fair considering that he's been the best player in the sport for several seasons. Circumstances have conspired against him – Shaq as a teammate, to the rape case, to the rebuilding of the roster – but with the Lakers on the cusp of contention in the Western Conference, Bryant could be setting himself up for an MVP breakthrough next season.

What's more, Bryant plans to return to Team USA this summer, where he ought to be the reason Mike Krzyzewski won't lose another game between now and the gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games. With Bryant on the floor in Beijing, the Americans are done losing.

So, the plan is laid out, shot by shot, and Bryant is executing it to perfection. What has so impressed Jackson is the way that Kobe has gone on this scoring spree without going to the basket, with jump shots arching high and true. Jordan did so much more of his scoring near the rim, something Bryant hasn't had to do.

Bryant has killed them softly with that treacherous touch, pushing himself onto his own private Basketball Rushmore with Wilt. No one can take their eyes off him now, and this is where Kobe controls the message, dictates terms of engagement.

"Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas is frustrated about not being on the U.S. national team playing in the FIBA World Championship and said he believes he was not given a fair tryout. When Arenas left the squad on Aug. 14, national team managing director Jerry Colangelo said it was because Arenas had an injured groin. But in his first comments since then, Arenas, the Wizards' leading scorer and a two-time all-star, said he didn't think he was going to make the 12-man roster and that the injury became an excuse to part ways." Washington Post

petak, 23.03.2007.

BRYANT BREAKS 50 FOR 3rd STRAIGTH TIME: 20-37 from the field, 17-18 from free throw line

KOBE GOES FOR SIXTY: ŠTO STE SE ZAMRZNULI, GRIZZLIESI??

Memphis 119, LA Lakers 121

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Kobe Bryant became the fourth player in NBA history to score at least 50 points in three straight games Thursday night.

Bryant said the most important thing was that it happened in another win.

"It's special because it's coming off three straight wins," Bryant said. "This is a stretch where we really need to make up some ground."

Bryant scored 60 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 121-119 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Bryant was 20-for-37 from the field, including 3-for-7 from 3s, and 17 of 18 from the free-throw line.

The last Laker with three consecutive 50-point games was Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor in December 1962. Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain are the only other players with three straight 50-point games. Chamberlain has the record with seven consecutive 50-point games, which he did in December 1961.

"It just feels great," Bryant said of joining Baylor, Jordan and Chamberlain. "Growing up I idolized all of them, from Wilt, to M.J. to Elgin. It's a tremendous honor to be in that same class with those guys and in the history books."

It was the fourth 60-point game of Bryant's career, tying him with Jordan for the second-most 60-point games in a career. Chamberlain holds the record with 32. Jordan was the last NBA player to score at least 50 points in three straight games, accomplishing the feat during the 1986-87 season.

Bryant will try to extend the run when the Lakers face the New Orleans Hornets on Friday night. Bryant scored 65 points against Portland on March 16 and 50 against Minnesota on March 18.

"I just feel like guys are finding me," Bryant said. "It's not like I'm taking difficult shots outside of a couple of them, and I'm in rhythm when I'm taking those.

"To get in a rhythm, I have to get great picks, great looks and great passes. You can't do that without the help of your teammates, particularly because they're sending double and triple teams. It makes it even more important that I get good passes and good screens."

NAJBOLJE NOĆAŠNJE AKCIJE (23/03/07)..

Memphis had won seven of the past 10 against the Lakers and had split two earlier meetings this season. But with Bryant scoring from every spot on the floor, the Grizzlies couldn't keep pace.

Memphis took an 85-80 lead, its biggest of the game, late in the third quarter after consecutive 3-pointers by Mike Miller. But the Lakers battled back behind Bryant, who scored nine straight points during a 90-second stretch to put Los Angeles up 95-93. The Lakers never trailed again.

Bryant had 24 points at the half and 43 after three quarters against the Grizzlies.

"When he gets going like that there's not a whole lot you can do," Miller said. "That's why Kobe is who he is. He doesn't get tired. He's in great shape. He's got his foot on the accelerator the whole game."

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said Bryant's aggressive nature was evident throughout the game.

"At one point, we got the offensive rebound and (had) a whole new 24-second (shot clock) left," Jackson said. "Lamar (Odom) gave the ball right back to him and Kobe went right back at them. He just smells blood in the water and he's going to go after you."

Odom was one of only two other Lakers to reach double figures. He finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds, but spent the postgame talking about Bryant's feat.

"It's a blessing to be on the court with him," Odom said.

The Lakers grabbed a 34-25 lead in the first quarter behind Bryant, who had 13 points.

Memphis fought back to tie the game at 53 in the final minutes of the second quarter as Gasol, Rudy Gay and Hakim Warrick combined for 14 points during a 14-6 Grizzlies run.

BASKETBALL MIXTAPE: NOW THIS IS TALENT..

Notes

Gasol extended his streak of having at least one block to 28 straight games... With the University of Memphis playing in the round of 16 of the NCAA tournament in San Antonio, the Grizzlies public address announcer gave periodic updates and the overhead video board showed stretches of the NCAA game. In the second half, the NCAA game was shown in its closing minutes before officials asked that it not be shown because the crowd's reaction was distracting play on the court.

utorak, 20.03.2007.

DALLAS – Here was Dirk Nowitzki, eyes tired, voice soft, sitting at a table in the Dallas Mavericks' offices with his mind running through the way that Steve Nash had again broken his heart. Hours earlier, a sleepless night had been born out of the disgust of a double-overtime loss to the Suns, one of those games that rustled the spirits of playoffs past, that fed into the fury of Dwyane Wade's resounding rip on his NBA finals failure.

For a moment here, though, the Mavericks star allowed himself to rewind three years to when Nash, his best friend, left Dallas for the desert. Nash's fleeing for free agency has been played out so many times, with all the reasons and regrets, but Nowitzki is forever left with, "What if?"

"We both love the teams we play with, but sometimes you think of what could've been if we stayed together," he said. "Would we have won a championship or not? Sometimes, I go through it in my mind …"

It wouldn't be long the other day until he snapped back that faraway gaze, because even without Nash running these Mavs, Nowitzki is still lording over the deepest, most versatile roster in the league. He's still in the midst of an MVP season, a greatness that has sculpted a prototype for the European basketball player in the NBA.

Here in the quiet of American Airlines Center, Nowitzki reflected on growing from a lost teen, fresh out of Germany whom in much of the league's eyes had arrived in the 1998 NBA draft as something of a science project in Don Nelson's laboratory.

Across his nine seasons, he has done everything a player must do for to reach a superstar's standing in this league – everything short of winning a championship. That's the threshold for him now, and he has himself and the Mavs on the cusp. Maybe most of all, Nowitzki has made America see that a European could be a franchise player, the cornerstone of a championship contender.

As much as anyone in the NBA today, in his own way, Nowitzki changed the game.

"You have to give Nellie a lot of credit: I don't think there were a lot of coaches then who would've let a 7-footer just dribble up the ball and jack up a three," he said. "He helped me find my game and develop it into something that really hasn't been done before.

"If I would've gone somewhere else, they would've made me a back-to-the-basket power forward and tried to punch it into the paint with me. Nellie didn't think that was my game and gave me all the freedom. I owe him a lot."

NAJBOLJE NOĆAŠNJE AKCIJE (20/03/07)..

Without Nowitzki, there's no Andrea Bargnani of Italy getting drafted No. 1 in Toronto and getting to play beyond the three-point line at 7-foot without a disparaging word. Nowitzki gave Bargnani, gave the next wave, legitimacy.

Now, he makes his bid for the final frontier for the European star. At 28 years old, he has averaged 25.2 points and 9.7 rebounds a game this season. As long as the Mavericks, 54-11 now, hold off the Suns and Nash for the No. 1 seed in the West, Nowitzki deserves to finally earn his first Most Valuable Player award.

"What has changed is that they do believe that guy can come over and be franchise players," he said. "That wasn't the case before, but now, they know we're good enough to carry teams over here."

After hearing Nowitzki lament letting those 2006 finals to the Heat slip away, Wade left everyone stunned with such a pointed, personal response to Nowitzki this season. The Mavs star raised his hand, took the blame, but somehow Wade decided this was a slight of the Heat. Of course, Dallas had Miami down two games to nothing, had them down double figures late in Game 3, before everything collapsed.

"… Dirk says they gave us the championship last year, but he's the reason they lost the championship," Wade said, "because he wasn't the leader that he's supposed to be in the closing moments."

Even now, Nowitzki sounds confused on how the mild-mannered Wade turned something so benign into something nastily personal.

"I thought he reacted really, really sensitive to what I said," Nowitzki said. "Everybody knows we had the series in control. … I thought I said something that we all felt.

"I wasn't going to go back at him again. That's not me."

NBA on ABC 1969 NBA FINALS GAME 7 FINISH (9 MIN)

Of course, Nowitzki rolled his eyes and laughed when it was sested that his boss, Mark Cuban, couldn't so easily let Wade's words go. The owner of the Mavericks hustled to Dirk's defense, blasting Wade in his blog. It was classic, combative Cuban – over the top and endlessly entertaining.

"(Cuban) probably shouldn't have said what he said," Nowitzki said. "Even by responding to that, it looks like (Wade) really got to us."

Beneath it all, you wonder if Wade himself still clings to those lingering stereotypes that a Euro is too soft, that he isn't cut out to burden an NBA championship. Wade wouldn't be alone in that thinking, and Nowitzki understands that none of that goes away until he's holding that trophy over his head this June, until Dirk Nowitzki goes the complete distance.

Piano player, also an aspiring singer - she tried out for American Idol, with Forgive by Rebecca Lynn Howard. She failed to advance past the first round.

As of 2005, Faber's name appears more than 14,000 times on the Internet. The nationwide tabloid Globe published her name on its front page, and featured her uncensored photo multiple times. She filed a civil suit against Kobe Bryant, under the plaintiff pseudonym Jane Doe, on 10 August 2004.

At the insistence of Faber, Eagle County Colorado District Attorney Mark Hurlbert dropped charges against Bryant on 1 September 2004 after a public expense of over $200,000 on the case. Faber has agreed not to refile charges against Bryant, but is pursuing the aforementioned civil suit against the basketball player.

petak, 16.03.2007.

Markota seems to be gaining confidence as of late, and his play has certainly improved over the past couple games. The best game of his short D-League career came on Friday, where he finished with 18 points and 8 rebounds on 8/13 from the field. Markota has legitimate 3 point range at this point, but he must continue to take shots within the flow of the offense, rather than forcing things off the dribble.

NAJBOLJE NOĆAŠNJE AKCIJE (16/03/07)..

He has also displayed the limited ability to drive to the hoop, but he needs to work on finishes more aggressively inside. At this point, it’s tough to project Markota’s future, but he certainly has a lot of assets to work with on the court.

Ovo su stvarno super vijesti, jer prije tjedan dana analiza je bila puno lošija, nešto poput "ne gine mu još koja sezona u Tulsi": Markota is faced with the challenge of learning to play a new type of game in addition to adjusting to receiving playing time again. At this point in time, he seems to lack confidence in his shot even though he was known as a good three point shooter overseas.

JEDAN OD DAMIROVIH OMILJENIH PURE SHOOTERA: RAY ALLEN..

In the flow of the game Markota has passed up numerous open looks that his teammates encourage him to take, and instead tries to create jumpers off the dribble. He looks to be comfortable facing the basket on the offensive end, but he will need to work on playing within the flow of the game. At this point, Markota looks to be a long term project, and he could benefit from a couple seasons in the D-League.

utorak, 13.03.2007.

Best team in the NBA? Hah! 17 game win streak? Hah! Get out of our house! This is the Bay, don't bring that weak game here. The Mavs weren't even close tonight. I was skeptical before the game, but now I'm a believer, We own the Mavs!

The Dubs were up 13 at the half but it kept growing in the 3rd. Everyone was waiting for a big run from the Mavs but it never came. Even Barnett said something along the lines of keeping a 24 to 28 point lead at the end of the 3rd. It was like he expected the Warriors to let the Mavs back in the game, but that just never happened. The Warriors controlled the game from the start of the 2nd quarter until the end. The lead even reached 31 points in the 4th. They put their foot on the accelerator and never let go.

This was a near perfect game for the Warriors. Check that, it was a near perfect 3 quarters for the Warriors because that's all they really needed to put the "best team in the NBA" in their place. The Warriors shots 57% from the field vs 42% for the Mavs. They forced a ridiculous 23 Maverick turnovers and had just 14 themselves. The most impressive feat of this game is not as noticeable in the boxscore, the defense. They were everywhere tonight. It was organized chaos. At times it felt like the Warriors had 6 guys on the court because they were in every passing lane, contesting every shot, and basically were everywhere. They had 13 steals but that doesn't tell the whole story.

NAJBOLJE NOĆAŠNJE AKCIJE (13/03/07)..

Stephen Jackson gave Dirk Nowitzki fits all night. He's so long that he contested his shots and didn't let Dirk get a clean look. Notice the numbers on Dirk, 3-11 from the field, 7 turnovers. How about Josh Howard, 5-15 from the field. It was like he didn't exist this game. Their two big scorers got absolutely shut down after the first quarter. Dirk had 10 in the first and finished with 13 overall and I don't think Howard scored in the 2nd half. It was an absolutely wonderful job by the Warriors on defense, something I haven't seen all season.

All of the starters came up big as four of them scored exactly 16 points. Baron with 9 points was the only starter not in double digits. But he contributed so much more. In just 23 minutes he really ran the show setting up players to the tune of 7 assists and scrambling on D. Then there was Al Harrington shooting a perfect 5-5 from the field. Andris Biedrins said he could do better, so he went and shot 8-8 from the field.

Stephen Jackson was huge tonight. His D was amazing and he also shot 6-10 from the field. JRich was the man though. His whole floor game was stellar and it looks like we're seeing a new and improved JRich. He shot just 6-15, but had 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals and a block. In other words, he was all over the place. The bench was ridiculous too. Monta, Barnes, and especially Pietrus. Each of those guys made hustle plays and made sure that when the starters left the game, the team didn't drop off.

THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR: MONTA ELLIS..

The only thing that troubled me tonight was the rebounding, 50 for the Mavericks, 28 for the Warriors. It wasn't a big deal because the Warriors were hitting everything and scoring so many points off of turnovers. I'm not sure how often this happens, but the Warriors had more assists than rebounds, 31-28.

Just like the every game, we have to take it one game at a time. There's still a long way to go, but we're now tied with the Kings for 9th in the West, just 1 game out of the 8th playoff spot. Go Warriors!

And finally, my favorite highlight of the game was the Monta Ellis "And 1." It was sick. We'll try to find a video of it, but for those who missed the shot, here's a quick recap. Monta cut baseline and got a caught a nice bounce pass from Baron. He took a hard dribble towards the rim, elevated just outside the key and the rest was pure magic. It was one of those plays where you don't know how he did it, but damn it sure was pretty.

After launching himself in the air, Monta glided towards the rim only to be met by former lazy Warrior, Erick Dampier. Monta absorbed the hit, stayed in the air as Damp came back down and somehow, somehow ended up on the other side of the rim to lay the ball up off the glass with some serious English on it. Bucket good plus the foul! The crowd exploded and the arena was going absolutely nuts. I still have no idea how he hung in the air long enough to get knocked by Damp, and lay the ball off the glass like he meant to do it. Monta's 06-07 highlight reel just got another entry.

We're breaking in the new Warrior Wonder logo tonight courtesy of RonG. I think the entire Warrior team knew that tonight's winner would be the inaugural winner with the new logo so everyone played hard trying to get the top honors. That's why it's so difficult to choose the winner. I have to give it to JRich for his overall floor game tonight. He was everywhere. He was all over the ball handlers, crashing the boards, stepping in passing lanes, and providing 16 points. Is he back? I wasn't sure at first, but after he keeps putting up solid games back to back to back, you have to think that the JRich we all loved last year is going to be here for the rest of the season.

subota, 10.03.2007.

This time I had much better evidence. Before, I was wearing kobe glasses because I was so furious. I also misinterpreted Phil's words. This time, I can see more straight.

"I think I'm going to have to put about 50 clips of Kobe shooting his shot and his arms going out like that so the judger of this deed of Kobe's sees that he does this a lot," Jackson said. "It's not an unnatural basketball motion."

These are videos in which Kobe flails his arms around, yet he didn't get suspended for that. I could've made this video longer, but don't have the memory space.

petak, 09.03.2007.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT: Michael Jordan On Bobcats Insider...

WHERE IS THE BALANCE? JORDAN EXPLAINS BICKERSTAFF..

Michael Jordan On Bobcats Insider

On Wednesday, March 7, Bobcats Insider aired a special edition with Bobcats Managing Member of Basketball Operations Michael Jordan on WMYT MyTV 12. Jordan talked openly with Bobcats Television play-by-play announcer Matt Devlin about his decision to invest in the Bobcats, his role in Charlotte and his vision for the future. Watch the interview with Jordan right here.

The following is the transcript of the interview with Michael Jordan:

Matt Devlin: Welcome to Bobcats Insider, I’m Matt Devlin. Over the next half hour, I’ll go one-on-one with an owner of the Charlotte Bobcats who also happens to be a North Carolina native and a Tar Heel legend by bringing the University of North Carolina the 1982 national title. He dominated the NBA for over a decade, guiding his Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships while capturing six NBA Finals MVP’s. He was a five-time NBA MVP, a 14-time All Star and the greatest player who ever played the game. Michael Jordan is an iconic figure whose drive and determination has led him to the pinnacle of his profession and the entire sports world.

Now he takes on a new challenge in his home state to build a winner and eventually bring an NBA championship to the Carolinas. This time as an owner...

First of all Michael, thank you very much for taking the time to join us. What led to your decision to get involved with the Charlotte Bobcats?

Michael Jordan: It was a lot of components. (Bobcats Majority Owner) Bob (Johnson) was on me for a couple of years actually, trying to get me involved. In the mix of that, I was still trying to find my own team and evaluate all of the different opportunities that were coming up. I felt like it would be somewhat of a compliment if I was looking for a team, then at the same time, trying to become a minority owner. Actually, I didn’t want to become a minority owner of a team because of what I just came out of with Washington, so I was looking for more of a control situation where I could give myself some time to develop the whole program that I felt like could benefit the franchise. You saw obviously what happened in D.C. and Bob came to me at the last minute saying that he would at least give me the opportunity to become a minority owner and still take a control aspect of the basketball portion.

Bob Johnson: It’s always been my dream to be partners with Michael in ownership of a basketball team. Michael’s dream on the contrary, was to be his own owner of a basketball team so our discussions have always been on “Bob, you want to be an owner, I want to be like you.” Instead of, “I want to be like Mike, I want to be like Bob.” I sort of constantly badgered him is the best way to describe it, about why we would make a great team.

Jordan: It was all of those components that kind of fell in place. In his other ventures, I looked at some of the things he was involved in at the time. I felt like it was a great opportunity to try to help him out if I was getting in some of those other ventures, help him out in the basketball portion and see if I could add some value to it.

Devlin: With your legacy as the greatest player in the game, how important is it to you to become an owner of an NBA franchise?

Jordan: Well, I felt like I still love the game of basketball. I wanted to be connected to basketball for a long time. I felt like I could influence the game positively, and hopefully my whole competitive nature was to try it, win and build a winning franchise, and that hasn’t diminished at all. I still feel like that’s my way of staying connected to the game of basketball, so ownership became a possibility. Once I got a taste of in D.C., it became part of my bloodline.

Devlin: You mentioned bloodlines. You’re from Wilmington, N.C. You won a title at North Carolina. It’s been 25 years. It’s hard to believe.

Jordan: I know time has flown by. Now you’re telling me my age. North Carolina has always been my home. Even though I lived in Chicago for 25 years, this is where my family is. This is where most of my friends are. Before I was Michael Jordan, I was known as Mike Jordan and everybody knew that. It gave me the opportunity to come home and be a part of this. I felt like I could add something to this franchise. A lot of things Bob may not understand about the South, I can probably understand about the South and help out. So far it’s been working out great.

Devlin: You mentioned earlier conversations with Bob, what is your specific role with the Bobcats?

Jordan: I’m an investor. I’m the operating manager of the basketball portion of the business, and what I do with that is I oversee all of the basketball decisions. I more or less have the final say-so of the basketball decisions.

Johnson: Our whole business approach is to find very talented people to work with and give them all of the authority that they deserve based on their ability, their skill and their commitment. Michael is the quintessential in that in terms of the basketball operations. So for me, to have a chance to have him as an owner (was great). He’s aligned with me financially in terms of his commitment. It’s not like he’s just working for me. He’s an owner working for himself, matter of fact. So to have him saying “I want to be responsible for all of basketball,” it’s like saying, “I want Michelangelo to be responsible for all of the painting of the Sistine Chapel.” It’s the easiest decision in the world.

Jordan: I stay in tune with the coaching and with the general manger and everything that happens with the basketball side of things. I’m involved in the drafting and the hiring of players and the signing of contracts and things of that nature, so I’m right into the basketball meat of the business. Even though I understand the marketing aspect, that’s not my expertise. I didn’t want that to be my expertise. I didn’t want to be part of the business. I have my own insight, but that’s not my strong point. My strong points are the basketball portion of the business so I control all of that.

Devlin: What is your vision when you sit back and you look at this franchise? What is your vision for the Bobcats?

Jordan: Well, the focus that I’m trying to initiate here is that what’s been transpiring over the last couple of years, I felt like, was done backwards. With this city in Charlotte – they had just gone through the divorce with (Hornets owner George) Shinn and the way they dedicated themselves to the team. For them to come here and try and build around the business aspect with not having the team to support it was not the correct approach from my standpoint. And this has been the things that I’ve had conversations with Bob and Fred Whitfield on this issue – that I want to build a basketball team that can sustain the marketing aspect. When we go to this consumer here in Charlotte, we’re not selling them a bill of goods. We’re selling a product that’s going to continue to do better and better and you’re best to invest in it because you’ll be there when it all erupts. So I wanted to make sure that with this team, we have a good solid nucleus of basketball players and built around the nucleus are good people and great effort from the basketball team. Then the marketing aspect is easy. Because when you win, it’s easy to sell a winning team. When you’re losing it’s tough. It’s just harder from the marketing aspect to go out and try to sell the team. So I felt like initially how it was done here in Charlotte was a little bit backwards for how we want to do things.

I wanted to come in and make a sound basketball program that people could see the guys are working hard. Young guys each and every day that can come out and do whatever they can to entertain the fans. Then, you bring in a situation that’s going to put all of that together. Different players that you’ll continue to add and keep making that progress in the right direction. And I feel like we’re really sitting in a great position right now. We have a great young nucleus of players we drafted. (Adam) Morrison, who I felt like, if he evolves, he can be that key kind of player. But then you look at buying into free agency with the cap room that we have. The table’s set. It’s now applying the talent within the organization and getting every component from the coaching staff all the way down to the scouting and to the players, where they all are on the same unit so we can be successful.

Devlin: You touched upon it right there. You won a title at North Carolina. You won six in the NBA. How do you build now a championship caliber team?

Jordan: Well I mean, it’s exactly what I said. You find the right pieces that you build around and you start and plug in systemically these components that are going to make the overall picture a lot better. It happened in Chicago. Once I got into Chicago, then they starting pling different people around me with Scottie Pippen and all of these other guys. Once you’ve got the nucleus of the team together, it doesn’t matter who you plug in after that. And then the coaching staff came through a situation where they applied individual talents and personalities and placed them into certain roles where everybody flourishes. I think that’s what needs to be done. It’s the same program. Obviously the problem in Charlotte is they don’t have a Michael Jordan.

Devlin: That’s hard to do. (Laughing) That’s hard to come by.

Jordan: It’s hard to find a player that in the fourth quarter that can take over a game. That’s one thing that this team is missing is that go-to player. If they had a go-to player, I think a lot of the games that they’ve played this year would have a different outcome. But those skills are hard to find. Vying through free agency to try to find that or going into the draft to try to find that, that would be a beneficial acquisition. As I said, what’s happening in Chicago and in North Carolina, it’s set. The stage is set here with a good nucleus of players. We’re missing a couple of components and the next thing you know, we’ll be winning. We’re really fortunate.

Devlin: I know you talk to (Bobcats General Manager & Head Coach) Bernie (Bickerstaff) on a daily basis. You’re at shootarounds. You’re at practices. You’re at games. You touched on this core of the team. What are your thoughts on the core right now? You look at them and there’s a strong nucleus?

Jordan: Yeah, there’s a strong nucleus. They’re still in a learning process. You can still see a lot of mistakes being made, and that’s going to happen. How Bernie’s coached has been a big help to understanding and evaluating what we have. He’s allowed everyone to openly compete for a job - see who really wants it and who doesn’t want it. At then at the end of the day, we have to either make trades or try and take that into what the concept is with this franchise.

Raymond (Felton) is an exceptionally good point guard. I think he’s going to continue to learn about his turnover-to-assist ratio. Those type of things, his decision making. You can see his heart and his desire is really strong. Gerald Wallace was a product that came over from Sacramento who’s shown he’s got the workman-like attitude. He’s going to do everything. He gets injured a bit, but I think that’s only because he’s trying so hard. (Sean) May is another big guy who can shoot and play inside/outside, has an unbelievable body, but he has to take care of his body because of the physical things he’s had to deal with. (Emeka) Okafor is the centerpiece. How often can you find a versatile center who can block shots, get up and down the court and play an up tempo style of game? Matt (Carroll) has proven to be the sunshine of what’s happened with this team because in a lot of situations, he’s proven to be our go-to guy on the court. He can shoot the basketball, get to the free throw line – he really tries hard to be a part of this whole franchise. When you look at Morrison, he’s going to learn. He’s getting an eyeful about what it feels like to have the target on your back. Every night, you’re going against someone who was a star player on their college team too, and either you compete with it or you don’t compete. He’s shown he can compete with it, and he’s going to continue to get better and better. Those are some good pieces right there that you can kind of build around. They’re going to grow. They’re going to get better, get better coaching, get a total understanding of what it feels like to be an NBA player. And then we’ll see where it takes us from that point.

Devlin: Michael, you look at third-year expansion teams going back to 1980. This team is on track to be one of the most successful third-year expansion teams. The Orlando Magic won 31 games. They’re the most successful team. What are your thoughts on the season to date?

Jordan: Well, I think that barring from all of the injuries that may have occurred over this time of the season, I think they’re ahead of the game. We got on a nice little streak without Brevin Knight and even when Wallace wasn’t playing. We went out and somehow sucked it up and found ways to win. (February), I think has been a .500 month for us. The guys are finding ways to overcome a lot of the injury situations, so I think the team with that aspect is ahead of the game. Will we get to 31 games? I think so. I think the way that the guys are playing and getting healthy, with the guys coming back, I think we can definitely do that. Staying healthy and being about to complement each other when someone goes down and I think Bernie has done a tremendous job of rearranging the roster to where he gets that effort every single night. With me, if the effort is there, then you’re going to be able to get your chance to win ball games. This team has put forth the effort every night. They’ve had their nights when they just haven’t played well, but it wasn’t because the effort wasn’t there. It was just because the talent of the team they were facing was a lot better or whatever, but you’re going to have nights like that. But the team that plays hard is always going to end up winning games people don’t expect them to win. We’ve beaten a lot of good teams. We beat L.A. (Lakers) twice. We beat San Antonio. We’ve beaten teams that are some of the elite in the league so we can see the effort. We can see the capabilities of what this team can do.

Devlin: You mentioned Matt Carroll and it’s interesting because I had a great conversation with Matt.

Carroll: (Prior to the November 22 game against Boston) was sort of the first time when he came up to me and kind of said something directed to me rather than just saying, “How are you doing, what’s up?” or something like that.

Jordan: I remember thinking because up to that point, I honestly had some conversations with Bernie. I kept saying, “Bernie, you keep telling me this kid can shoot,” yet he had been shooting almost 35 percent. I said, “I’ve yet to see him hit a jump shot.” And he said, “He’s the shooter on the team.” I asked (Matt), “When are you going to wake up so I can see?”

Carroll: He kind of said to me, “C’mon M.C. You’re a shooter man. I’ve never seen you hit any shots. What’s going on?”

Jordan: I joked with him that day and told him, “They tell me you can shoot, but I’ve yet to see you make any jump shots.” From that point on, I think he had the attitude to prove me wrong.

Carroll: And I then kind of said, “Okay, we’ll see then.” And it was like a natural reaction to for me to say back to him, but coming from him it meant a lot more than if someone else kind of just said, “Hey man, hit some shots.” When he said it to me, since we hadn’t had that much dialogue, that much discussion between each other… when he did say something, even if it was just a few words, that meant something to me. I kind of took that to heart and said, “Alright, I’m going to show you then Mike.”

Jordan: Ever since then, he’s made a believer out of me. Whenever he gets his feet set, he’s one of the best shooters in the game.

Carroll: That night, I was thinking about that and went to the game and just said, “Hey, I’m going to knock some shots down. I’m going to be aggressive.” And I remembered that. I remembered what he said. And something that little that took a few words really kind of got to me and triggered me to start playing well.

Jordan: All he needed was someone to say, “You’re doing a great job and it will come around. It will happen for you. Just keep working hard, keep working hard and keep working hard.” I think that catapulted him into believing that he belonged. He’s received well. His efforts don’t go unnoticed.

Carroll: He came up to me, slapped me five, gave me a little hug and said, “Now that’s how you’re supposed to play. Like that.” And that made me feel pretty good.

Jordan: As long as he has that confidence, it will be a really big aid for this franchise long-term. His accuracy is something that every championship team needs. We had Steve Kerr. We had John Paxson. To me, he’s more like that. I did it at North Carolina and did it in Chicago. I’ve learned in the process too because some people can take it in different ways. You can be harder on people and they don’t know how to receive that. With that learning, I’ve applied those type of talents very gingerly so that I don’t ruin someone’s confidence, but instead give them a sense of confidence. I did it the same with Raymond. I’ve done it the same with Sean and even with Okafor.

Okafor: His word’s as good as gold. It’s the source and where it’s coming from that means so much. You know what he’s done, so you feel good about what he sees – he must be right. You just take it to heart and try to improve.

Felton: He had a little joke one time – told me (former UNC) coach Dean Smith told me to tell you to cut down on those turnovers. Little things like that, which I know he did say that because Dean Smith used to get on me all the time about that. Cut down on those turnovers. Mainly, he just told me to use what you got. Use your speed, use your strength and use quickness and just go with the ball.

Jordan: I hope I can instill that. That’s one of the reasons that I’m here, that I can give someone that type of confidence. They’re good players and they can become better just by believing in themselves. If you don’t believe in yourself, then you’re obviously wasting a lot of people’s time, not just yours.

Devlin: With the foundation set for the franchise, this is a big summer for the Bobcats. The NBA draft will quite possibly be the deepest in years and the Bobcats will have cap room to be active in the marketplace. You mentioned Adam Morrison. I know you were heavily involved in the draft last year. Take us through that process of what you saw in Adam Morrison as a young player.

Jordan: Well, I think what we really want here in Charlotte is we want people who are willing to take that effort of being a better basketball player. The thing that I saw about him is you can see a lot of skillful people coming out of college and some kids that are not as skillful. I think he’s very skillful, but his heart and his desire to become the best was something you can’t give kids. It’s hard to give people that type of attitude and he has it. Now can that translate into being a successful NBA player? We think he can. That’s one of the things that we saw in him. He’s a gym rat. He loves being around the game of basketball. He’s tough. He can learn. He listens. His demeanor, his attitude about failure is something you can’t really find. He wants and accepts what failure is and wants to turn it around into something successful. That’s hard to find in kids today.

Devlin: You look at this draft. I know you can’t specifically comment on underclassmen at this time, but there are a lot of people who believe that this draft could even be deeper than the 2003 NBA Draft, and that included LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh. The last player chosen in the first round was Josh Howard by the Dallas Mavericks. Your thoughts on the upcoming draft? Does it have that sort of potential?

Jordan: It has potential. Obviously, you’ve got to wait and see who’s going to be in the draft of the underclassmen, international players – things of that nature. All of those will come into play in the scouting aspect of what we’re trying to do, but it has the potential to be a really, really deep draft. We’re in a good situation. Hopefully we can continue to get more draft picks. We can buy into that and feel comfortable getting in that environment. But this could very well be a very deep draft. Right now, where we’re sitting, we’re sitting in the lottery area, which you can look at it in two different ways. It can be a good thing because you can get a good pick, but obviously I would like to make the playoffs. I don’t like to sit around and throw games just so you can get more balls in the hopper. If it’s meant to be, its going to happen. I think what’s important is to show a winning attitude here to Charlotte. If we can go out and win games, compete and play hard, that’s what we do and let the chips fall where they may. If we have a No. 1 pick wherever it is, we’re going to utilize our education about the draft and get a sound player. If we feel like we can’t get anything within the draft and can trade that pick to get some established veteran, then that’s what we’ll do. We’re going to explore all of the options. We’re not going in with a closed mind. We’re going in with an open mind. We’ve got money. We’ve got a lot of situations where we can better this franchise.

Devlin: Another thing you touched upon earlier was cap space – an absorbent amount of cap space for this franchise. Do you see the Bobcats being active in the free agent market? And then there’s obviously the ability to do a sign and trade?

Jordan: There’s flexibility we’re going to have. I like to have that flexibility because it gives us a lot of options. If a marquee player comes on the market that I think can fit this program, then we’re going to get him. If there’s something out there that we think is not worth it, then we’re not going to waste money just make a move. I know the franchise. I know everybody wants to win, but you’ve got to make sound decisions for this franchise too. To go out and spend money and not with the education of knowing what you’re going to get, it doesn’t make any sense. I can look at a lot of teams in the league that are making moves and soon they have no flexibility. They’re stuck with the same team for five to six years. What we did in Washington was we were able to unload contracts, build flexibility with our cap. The next thing you know, they walked into a great situation where they can build their franchise in getting a marquee player. We’re kind of in the same situation. We have a good nucleus of players. We’ve got great cap room. Now we’ve got to look and see what’s out there to see what’s going to fit with our franchise.

Devlin: It’s an exciting time for the Charlotte Bobcats. The core of players is in place. The organization is poised to make an impact in the offseason and they are currently on pace to have the most successful third year in expansion history. We would like to take a moment to thank Michael Jordan for joining us here on Bobcats Insider. I’m Matt Devlin, and thank you for watching.

ponedjeljak, 05.03.2007.

GIRICEK ON FIRE: 13.6p/FGs61%/3FGs56% in last 6...MARKOTA ON NBDL RISE:24.8min/8.2p/4.6s

Cleveland Cavaliers: Construction zone

DALLAS – In the final two minutes of Thursday's 95-92 loss to the Mavericks, the Cleveland Cavaliers gave NBA fans a glimpse of what's keeping them from taking the next step to the elite level.

The Cavs had battled and hung in against the league's best club for 46 minutes, riding the spectacular LeBron James' 39 points to stay close. When Avery Johnson decided to take the ball out of LeBron's hands in those final two minutes, sending three defenders at him, this is what happened on consecutive possessions: a missed three-pointer by Donyell Marshall, another Marshall missed three and a missed three by Sasha Pavlovic. All wide open looks, and nothing to show for them.

Finally, in the closing seconds and his team down three points, James was fouled on a hard drive to the hoop. The 68-percent foul shooter bricked both shots, and after Cleveland rebounded the second miss, LeBron clanged two potential game-tying three-point attempts in the closing seconds. Game over.

NAJBOLJE NOĆAŠNJE AKCIJE (05/03/07)..

That two-minute sequence pretty much summed it up for the Cavaliers. LeBron is an amazing talent – a guy who can carry his team for long stretches of a game – but he doesn't have enough help around him. And he's not quite ready to close games out by himself.

That's why Danny Ferry tried so hard to deal for Mike Bibby at the trading deadline. Bibby would have taken plenty of pressure off James with his point guard skills and his ability to make big shots. Without a true playmaker on the roster, James is the one who constantly has to create offense for Cleveland. James is so talented that he needs to be on the receiving end of plays.

Despite all their deficiencies, the Cavs are the second-best team in the East at 33-25. (Maybe that's an indictment of the Eastern Conference more than anything). But what's important to note is how young this franchise is.

Dan Gilbert is a new owner. Ferry is a young general manager. James is still just 22 years old. Daniel Gibson, the starting point guard, is a rookie. And Mike Brown is in his second season as coach. If you know NBA history, you know that it takes time to build a franchise. Dallas is one win away from its seventh consecutive 50-win season, but it wasn't until last year that it became a true title contender. The normal progression for a team to advance to a championship level takes many years.

NAJBOLJE JUČERAŠNJE AKCIJE (04/03/07)..

Internal growth is critical for Cleveland – particularly James' late-game shooting, which has been a problem. As gifted as he is, he hasn't shown the ability to close games like Dwyane Wade or Kobe Bryant. But more importantly, James will need better personnel around him.

Aging veterans like David Wesley, Damon Jones, Marshall and Eric Snow will have to be phased out. Zydrunas Ilgauskas can still be effective at times, and Larry Hughes, when healthy, can add depth and defense. But a vast overhaul needs to take place in the next few years.

A playmaking point guard must be added, along with better shooters and another big man. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, this summer will not be an easy time to start the process – they don't have a pick in the upcoming draft.

Eventually the change will occur, and Cleveland will become an elite team. James is too good a player for that not to happen. Ferry is very bright, and he works for an owner who is willing to spend money to build a good team. The problem is that, with James, the expectations are enormous.

But as those last two minutes of the Dallas game showed, things aren't going to change overnight for the Cavaliers. This is a work in progress.

petak, 02.03.2007.

WHAT GOES DOWN MUST COME UP: NBA comeback Micheala Raya Richardsona?

ALBANY, N.Y. – Across his basement office in the Washington Avenue Armory, Micheal Ray Richardson is trying to understand the crisis his assistant has brought him on the morning of a game. Tell me again, the coach of the Albany Patroons asks, why the general manager is telling us we have to wear our home yellow tops with our away green shorts tonight?

Richardson throws up his hands. "Crazy," he says, and then he looks across his desk and gives you that look, as though this is what he's been trying to tell you for 20 minutes now.

Ex-Patroons took the gear with them, and ownership isn't replacing them because, well, this is the reality of the never-so-fledgling Continental Basketball Association. This is where Richardson, 51, had to come to be a pro coach two years ago.

All these years later, he still is impatient – a flurry of tics and stuttering and animation. All the way back when people declared him a worthy peer to Magic Johnson, when he gave the New York tabloids one of the great back pages upon declaring "The ship be sinkin' " about the 1981-82 New York Knicks, no one would've seen his Albany incarnation coming.

He drove coaches crazy, and broke hearts, and when he was delivered a lifetime ban for his drug addiction four years later, he was about the last character ever expected to return to pro ball with a clipboard and wingtips on the sidelines.

The Patroons gave him a shot to coach here, when no one else was offering, but Richardson isn't so flushed with gratitude on Wednesday morning. This day, it was the uniforms. Earlier in the season, ownership stopped letting his assistant, Rowland, travel with the team on the road – unless Richardson wanted to leave a player home.

1984 NBA PLAYOFFS: PHILADELPHIA 76ERS vs. NEW JERSEY NETS..

"Unheard of!" Richardson barks in his office.

Twenty-one years past NBA commissioner David Stern's banishment, Richardson, the four-time All-Star who snorted away his Hall of Fame talent and whom they still call "Sugar," is getting worked up about life in the bush leagues.

"Everybody looking in on the outside thinks everything's rosy," he says. "Everything here is not rosy.

"When I took this job, I had two assistant coaches and 10 players. At the beginning of the year we were 12-3 and able to carry my coach around. Then all of a sudden, things changed. 'Either carry an assistant coach, or carry nine players.'

"This year, we're the only team – even Pittsburgh (5-32) is carrying an assistant coach on the road. Here he we are, fighting for the top position of our division and I can't have an assistant coach?"

At this point, the sign protecting the cold drinks in his office – "Take Notice: No one is allowed in this refrigerator except Micheal Ray Richardson," – has the feel of a last line of defense for him. Richardson stops himself and takes a deep breath. He has tried to make his stand in the minor leagues, but sometimes that can feel like the biggest losing cause of all.

Everyone told him to calm down this year, to ease back on his temper, and he thinks about it. The passing of his old buddy, Dennis Johnson, hit him hard, too. He's trying to keep all of that in mind, he swears.

Richardson doesn't see himself returning to the Patroons next season. "Hard to see that," he confesses, adding that he hopes instead to rejoin his wife and two children in the south of France as some NBA team's European scout.

Between then and now, though, the Patroons are destined for the playoffs, a 21-14 record that trails first-place Minot by four points in the CBA's scoring system. There's been progress this season after a 20-28 debut, especially when too much of Richardson's rookie season found him storming past winning coaches without shaking hands, relentlessly berating his ball club and creating enough uncomfortable sideline circumstances that league and team officials had to talk to him in the offseason.

"I thought he was a little shaky the first year, but this year he's improved quite a bit," Coyne says.

Even so, you still get the idea that management wouldn't mind if Richardson moved on at season's end. It's a shame, too, because Coyne has had one of the great hiring touches in the history of basketball. The G.M.'s run in the 1980s included Phil Jackson, Bill Musselman and George Karl. And you wonder, if the greatest living pro coach, Jackson, ever would have been a basketball coach if Coyne hadn't been so persistent to hire him with the Patroons in 1982.

In the beginning, the plan was for this job to be Richardson's lottery ticket as well. After a decade and a half in Europe, playing ball into his mid-forties in Croatia, France and Italy, he cleaned himself up and came back.

Through it all, Stern has never lost track of Richardson's life. He always called the Richardson suspension the toughest thing he ever had to do in basketball, and he wanted to see him get his life together and get a second chance. Often, they still connect by phone.

"The commissioner's a compassionate man," Richardson says. "But I put him in that position, and he did what had to be done with me. At that time, it was the right choice for me because it saved my life. I did that to me – not him. But he has never turned his back on me."

Stern helped arrange for Richardson to get a community relations position with his hometown Denver Nets in 2003. Two years later, the Patroons were brought back as an expansion franchise in a post-Isiah-Thomas-destroyed CBA. Coyne remembered Richardson from when he played for Musselman in the Patroons' second championship season of 1987-88 and brought him back to coach the franchise.

Mostly, the big-name coaches and players are gone from the CBA now. Nevertheless, this is where Richardson had come for his shot, and this season, he hurt his standing with the franchise when he left the team for two games to work a fantasy camp in Las Vegas during the NBA's All-Star weekend (with – who else? – Darryl Dawkins). He had been the CBA's Coach of the Month in December, but that suddenly didn't mean much when, in his second straight season, he left his team to his assistant in February.

NAJBOLJE NOĆAŠNJE AKCIJE (02/03/07)..

And shortly after, while Coyne was away on vacation, Richardson traded forward Eric Williams to Pittsburgh for Marvin Phillips.

"We talked about [that trade], and he pretty much assured me that it wasn't going to happen," Coyne says. "I went to the Bahamas for a week, and it happened."

He manages a laugh. "Now, only one person is authorized to make trades here."

And it's not Sugar. At the time, Coyne let everyone know that he didn't like getting undercut on a trade by his coach. In response, Richardson barked back to the Albany Times-Union, "This isn't the YMCA. Are you kidding me?"

Now, Coyne says, "It is the CBA and not the NBA. Micheal's got to focus more on that. All he has to do is ask Phil Jackson and George Karl. They've been through it all."

So Wednesday night at the Armory, Richardson has his newly hand-picked point guard, Kareem Reid, on the floor, and Reid is shredding those Indiana Alley Cats with lob dunk passes and deft drives to the basket. What's more, Reid kept finding that ill-gotten forward, Phillips, for basket after basket. At halftime, Coyne sensed the irony and laughed that crazy minor-league basketball laugh. This night had been a measure of vindication for his coach, and he knew it.

"Hey, looks like the old days here tonight," he says.

After the game, the first in weeks that Richardson had 10 players active, he bellows to the team's beat writer, "They still want to criticize my moves?"

And soon, Richardson has the last laugh on his way into a cold, upstate night. The Patroons are creeping closer to first place, and maybe the coach still is figuring out a way to make this job work for him, the way it did for those big names on his G.M.'s past watch.

"I'm a survivor," he says, and truth be told, there always seems to be one more run left in Micheal Ray Richardson.

BOSTON CELTICS - *Forward Wally Szczerbiak (2/28, surgery on left ankle) is expected to miss the remainder of the year. Guard Tony Allen (1/13, left knee surgery) will miss the remainder of the season. Center Theo Ratliff (1/23, back surgery) will miss the remainder of the season.

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS - *Guard Sasha Pavlovic (2/28, right ankle) is questionable for Thursday's game against Dallas.

DALLAS MAVERICKS - *Guard Greg Buckner (2/28, bruised left knee) is questionable for Thursday's game against Cleveland. Guard Devean George (2/22, sprained MCL in right knee) is expected to return in one week. Center Didier Ilunga-Mbenga (2/20, right knee surgery) will miss the remainder of the season.

MILWAUKEE BUCKS - *Guard Earl Boykins (2/28, torn ligaments in right thumb) is questionable for Friday's game against Toronto. Center Dan Gadzuric (2/6, dislocated left shoulder) is expected to miss six weeks. Forward Bobby Simmons (1/13, right foot surgery) will miss the remainder of the season.

NEW JERSEY NETS - *Guard Antoine Wright (2/28, bruised right elbow) is questionable for Saturday's game against Boston. Forward Richard Jefferson (2/24, right ankle surgery) is expected to miss another two weeks. Center Nenad Krstic (12/23, left knee surgery) will miss the remainder of the season.

NEW YORK KNICKS - Guard Jamal Crawford (2/27, stress fracture in right ankle) is out indefinitely. *Forward David Lee (2/28, high right ankle sprain) missed Wednesday's game against Boston. Guard Steve Francis (2/27, right knee tendinitis) is out indefinitely.

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS - Center Joel Przybilla (2/27, sore left knee) is doubtful for Thursday's game against Charlotte. Forward Raef LaFrentz (2/21, left heel) is out indefinitely. Forward Darius Miles (11/14, right knee surgery) will miss the remainder of the season.